Although less popular than birdwatching, studying bugs can be very rewarding; you may even discover a previously unknown species.

While owning things like aquatic and aerial nets is useful, all you really need is patience, a lack of squeamishness, a magnifying glass, and an internet connection to look up what bug it is that you just caught. This leaves the problem of actually catching crawling insects. You could use forceps, but this device makes it much easier.

Especially when you see a rare bug, the last thing you want to do is harm it by picking it up (which over-enthusiastic children are likely to do, anyway). The BugView solves this problem: you simply place the clear box over an interesting bug and slide the lever forward to extend the bottom panel underneath it. This also makes it easier to expel unwelcome, multi-legged guests from your home without killing them.

The top is a 5x magnifying glass, allowing you to view your find in detail. Not exactly the magnification level of telescopes, but good enough for the purpose. It only works well when the bug is in the center of the compartment, though, and the distortion in produces can make catching a fleeing insect without squashing it more difficult.

The BugView is large enough to accommodate bugs of up to about 2″ in size, while the handle is long enough to let most arachnophobics feel safe. Biology teachers will be happy to know that you can order them in a set of six although, strangely, at the time of writing this doesn’t seem to actually save you any money.